Happy Father's Day

For some of us, Father's Day is a day to celebrate and for some of us, it is a day that we wish didn't even exist. The stores are filled with sales on polo shirts, ties, BBQs, and all kinds of other things that dads would enjoy.

Personally, it is a bittersweet day because, although our kids are here to celebrate the wonderful dad they have in Ivan, my father is no longer here to celebrate with. Ivan is a wonderful father who is a man of integrity and high character; a godly man who his children adore.,

I have amazing memories of my dad, who died last spring. We shared incredible memories of ministry over the years. He was a mentor to me, a very close friend and someone I highly respected and loved. We would laugh at silly things until we squeeked(mostly when we were tired). We talked for hours about the Lord and the Word. He was proud of me and I was proud of him, but we both knew everything good about us was because of Who was in us.I miss him so much but I rejoice that He is with our heavenly Father, who he served for over 50 years. That is what I want to do. Thanks, Dad for being the shining example of our Heavenly Father and for being the best dad I could have possibly had.

On a ministry level, I see many children who will not see their dad this Father's Day because of divorce. Maybe their dad walked out on the family, maybe they were not healthy dads to be around or they landed in prison. Maybe their dad died and these kids will never see them again. Through custody battles, some kids see their dads every week and some don't see them at all.

We can't bring their fathers back, but we can sure help them to know a Father Who will not leave them, hurt them, put them down, or ignore them. He can be trusted and will never leave them, will always be there to listen, loves them unconditionally and they can spend forever with them. Praise His name.

On a practical level, if you know of a child who doesn't have a father around, maybe ask them to join you for a fun activity and help build memories. Help take the sting out of Father's Day and beyond for them.